Reno Man Wins Nevada Magazine’s 2012 Photo Contest

Kristoffer Glenn Pfalmer (left) poses with Nevada Magazine Editor Matthew B. Brown on August 27 in Carson City. Pfalmer had large prints made of his three photos that earned accolades in the magazine's 2012 photo contest.

Kristoffer Glenn Pfalmer, a guardsman navigator for the Nevada Air National Guard in Reno, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 35th annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest — the feature story in the publication’s September/October 2012 issue.

The winning image, titled “Ranges Blue," was captured from a Las Vegas-bound commercial jet about 100 miles northwest of the city looking east into Nevada. The picture shows dozens of Nevada's mountain ranges shrouded in a beautiful blue haze (see below). "I used the color casting as an artistic element," Pfalmer says.

In addition to the Grand Prize, Pfalmer won the Events category with his black-and-white "Thunderbirds" photo and was runner-up in the Photo Illustration category with his "Strega" image. Both images are of planes that participated in the 2011 National Championship Air Races and Air Show (now the TravelNevada.com Reno Air Races, which occur annually in September).

Photo: Kristoffer Glenn Pfalmer

The additional categories of Nevada Magazine's 2012 photo contest are: City Limits, Wide Open, Nature, People, and Then & Now. Overton resident Jay Wanta won the City Limits category with his vibrant nighttime image of the Las Vegas Strip; Neil Lockhart of Reno won Wide Open with a beaming black-and-white image of North Lake Tahoe; Las Vegas' Jose Witt took top honors in Nature with a photo of a golden-colored bobcat; Oregon photographer Larry Turner won the People category with his soulful image of grey-bearded Beatty resident Fred Reed; Mauricio Reyes-Gomez of Las Vegas won Photo Illustration with his Valentine's Day-themed photo of his balloon-wielding girlfriend at Bonnie Springs; and Beatty's Mark Holloway swept the Then & Now category, in which photographers snap a modern photo from the same place a historical photo was taken a number of years ago.

To view the winning images and runners-up, pick up the latest issue at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit nevadamagazine.com. Look for information in a future 2013 issue covering rules of submission for the 2013 photo contest, or check back regularly at nevadamagazine.com.

Also in the September/October 2012 issue

Photo: Rob Petersen

The remainder of the current issue honors Nevada’s centennial ranches — ranching families that have survived for 100-plus years. Lake Tahoe photographer Rachid Dahnoun captures this traditional lifestyle wonderfully in a photo gallery feature.

Also highlighted are scenic autumn drives and hikes, Reno's MidTown District, volunteer efforts at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Fallon's Tractors & Truffles event, Pahrump Valley Winery's Grape Stomp, a Q&A with St. Louis Rams running back and Las Vegas native Steven Jackson, and a history story titled “Nevada's Lost City,” which includes excerpts from a new Arcadia Publishing book of the same name.

Las Vegas resident wins Nevada Magazine’s 2011 Photo Contest

The winning image, titled “Night Sky Over Ward Charcoal Ovens,” was taken at
eastern Nevada’s Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. Photo: Thomas McEwan

Thomas McEwan, who captured a starry night at eastern Nevada’s Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 34th annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest—the feature story in the publication’s September/October issue.

The winning image, titled “Night Sky Over Ward Charcoal Ovens” and shown above, was stitched together from six 75-second exposure frames and is a tribute to Nevada’s astronomical appeal. “You would think it would be jet black at night, but the starlight was so bright, I was able to work without a flashlight,” says McEwan, from Las Vegas.

In addition to the Grand Prize, photographers were judged in six categories: Las Vegas Territory, Pony Express Territory, Cowboy Country, Indian Territory, Nevada Silver Trails, and Reno-Tahoe Territory (see map here). The Nevada Commission on Tourism has split the state into these six “territories” for marketing purposes.

All the 2011 category winners and runners-up are Nevada residents, including Reno’s Sally Hanrahan, who won the Indian Territory and Reno-Tahoe Territory categories. Hanrahan’s winning photos are of Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe, respectively.

Nevada Magazine’s
September/October 2011 issue.
Photo: Dave Harrison

The other territory winners are as follows: Kurt Kuznicki of Reno for “Joshua Trees”; Robert Rollins of Reno for “Fort Churchill”; Roy O’Brien of Gardnerville for “Autumn Morning” taken in Lamoille Canyon; and Brian Beffort of Reno for “Wilderness Whitewater” snapped near Mount Grafton.

Like Hanrahan, Spring Creek’s Jodi Esplin is also a dual honoree, taking Runner-Up in the Cowboy Country category and Third Place in the contest’s seventh category, “Then & Now,” in which photographers were asked to re-create former Nevada Highways and Parks or Nevada Magazine cover images.

The winner of Then & Now, Dawn Andone of Panaca, was rewarded for her modern-day photo of Cathedral Gorge State Park, a re-creation of a March 1937 cover of Nevada Highways and Parks.

To view the winning images, pick up the latest issue at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit nevadamagazine.com. Look for an ad in a future 2012 issue covering rules of submission for the 2012 contest, or check back regularly at nevadamagazine.com.

Nevada Magazine celebrates Nevada Silver Trails

The remainder of the September/October 2011 issue honors Nevada’s second-largest territory, Nevada Silver Trails. In it are features on Silver Trails parks and recreation—including Death Valley National Park and Lincoln County’s five state parks—and a roundup of 17 south-central towns.

Also highlighted are Yerington’s Jeanne Dini Cultural Center, Death Valley Junction’s Amargosa Opera House, off-the-beaten-path destinations, noteworthy events, and a history story titled “Gold Finds Make Nevada History,” an excerpt from Nevada Magazine’s 75th-Anniversary Edition and the July 1936 issue of Nevada Highways and Parks.

As part of its 75th anniversary, the magazine is highlighting Nevada’s six “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Pony Express Territory, Cowboy Country, Indian Territory, Nevada Silver Trails, and Reno-Tahoe Territory. The November/December 2011 issue will cover Reno-Tahoe Territory.

Sparks resident wins Nevada Magazine’s 2010 Great Nevada Picture Hunt

A year after a Texas man won the grand prize in Nevada Magazine’s annual photo contest, a Sparks resident has delivered the gold back to the Silver State.

Sean Kukowski, who captured a thrilling 2009 summer lightning storm over the Reno area, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 33rd annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt—the feature story in the publication’s September/October 2010 issue.

The winning image (above), titled “Reno Lightning,” was taken from a hillside off of State Route 445, known as Pyramid Highway. “This storm took me by surprise,” Kukowski says. “It had some of the most impressive lightning I have ever seen.”

In addition to the Grand Prize, photographers were judged in five different categories: City Limits, Wide Open, Adventure, People, and Events. All the 2010 category winners are Nevada residents, including Las Vegas’ Bill Gerrard, who won the City Limits category and took Runner-Up in Events. Gerrard’s winning photo is of the tram that connects CityCenter to other Strip resorts.

Ellen Sargent, from Indian Springs, swept the People category with sepia images taken at the Overland Ranch in Ruby Valley. The subject of the winning image, Len Wines, was captured during his final branding at the 137-year-old ranch. The Runner-Up image is that of Len’s grandson, Pat, from the same branding.

Other winners are Reno resident Michael Horsley (Wide Open, “Incline Night Shot”) for his nighttime winter overview of Incline Village; Reno’s Krista Williams (Adventure, “Hidden Beach Paddle Surfers”) for her intriguing photo of two paddle surfers taken from the shore of Lake Tahoe; and Ralph Willits of Las Vegas (Events, “Shot Show”) for capturing a leaping dog at an annual hunting and outdoors trade show.

To view the winning images, pick up the latest issue (at right) at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit NevadaMagazine.com. Look for an ad in a future 2011 issue covering rules of submission for the 2011 contest, or check back regularly at NevadaMagazine.com.

Also in the September/October issue, Nevada Magazine highlights some of the state’s more accessible ghost towns, visits Virginia City’s Mackay Mansion Museum, Lake Tahoe’s Thunderbird Lodge, and Reno’s Freight House District, covers two fabulous Fallon restaurants, and continues its Tour Around Nevada in Boulder City.